Do-it-yourself and be pampered

Making your own chocolates in a chocolate workshop, picnicking on the Rhine or drinking cocktails in a hairdressing salon - Mannheim you can have it all.

Mannheim is not only a great place to eat. It also offers all sorts of unusual gastronomic experiences. With its expansive Baroque Palace, the city is home to Europe's largest baroque palace complex after Versailles. With its natural stone pavement, the palace's imposing yard "Ehrenhof" was the inspiration for a special Mannheim treat - the original Mannheim "Schlosspflaster". This fine dark mousse truffle from the Mannheim chocolate workshop “Schokoladenwerkstatt” in the Lindenhof district is refined with original Black Forest cherry schnapps and cream. You can make your own chocolates at a chocolate course with “Schlosspflaster” creator and chocolatier Andreas Lehmann. The attached coffee shop is a treasure trove of top-quality coffee and chocolate specialities.

In the Lindenhof district, just a stone's throw from the Rhine, but twice as charming, the bistro in a former butcher's shop offers French flair. Freshness and quality are just as central here as the warm, personal approach of the two hosts. If you fancy enjoying the view of the river, you can choose between four different picnic baskets, the names of which reveal their contents - Italy, France, Wellness and Palatinate. Picnic blanket, glasses and wine cooler can be borrowed against a deposit.

Cutting hair during the day, mixing drinks in the evening - the concept of Sieferle & Sailer is unique in Germany. Situated on the edge of the trendy Jungbusch district , the shop changes every night from a hairdresser into a bar. During the day, Marco Sailer - who happens to be Germany's best barber - styles men's hair and beards in the barbershop. In the evenings, Paul Sieferle and his team serve sophisticated cocktails that are named after various hairstyles.